Major: Biology (This Major's Salary over time)My comment is not meant to be negative nor positive. It is written non-biasly by a Marist student herself. At the end of reading this comment, it is my promise that you will have a true, "backstage" understanding of Marist College- from the academics to the students to the surrounding community. This will be the best, truest and most helpful review you will read.

ACADEMICS:
I was a decently smart student in high school. Obtaining a solid 3.5 average throughout my HS years(including many honors and AP's), I was sure Marist College would provide me with a challenging education well worth a "40 something" thousand dollar tuition.
Unfortunately I was wrong. Although the professors were/are very friendly and intelligent, the course work was simply not challenging enough (Note: this is saying a lot coming from a biology major). Quizzes and tests took a maximum of twenty minutes to complete and homework/projects were non-existant. This really disappointed me as I found myself spending more time on Facebook/Twitter than homework/projects. Although this may be some students dream, it is not worth the money in my opinion.

STUDENT BODY:
The people I met at Marist were all the same, often described as "cookie cutters" of one another. NY, NJ and Long Islanders were the main groups represented. If you are looking to be with people from those areas, then Marist is your school, however I would have liked to see more diversity. Unfortunately, I felt that I was entering 13th grade. The girls were "cliquey" and judgmental. Physical appearance seemed to mean a lot to the girls as I would see a number of them walking to their 8am classes in five inch heels. (Note: I do NOT speak for ALL Marist students when I say this, I have certainly met a few people at Marist whom do NOT fit this description.)
As my freshman year progressed, I noticed there was a constant competition among the students to prove they came from a rich, upperclass family. This was upsetting. Although I am sure it is great to own three shore houses, two boats, a mansion on the LI sound and every designer pair of shoes one could possibly imagine, it just simply did not matter to me. Regardless, the popular activity among the student body was drinking. Tuesday through Sunday, there was always a 21+ bar in the heart of Poughkeepsie filled with drunken Marist freshman- another thing i was not fond of. I will say, however, on the nights I did go out for some fun (typically normal nights such as Friday and Saturday...maybe the occasional Tuesday since I was so light on homework) were fun. I wouldn't say it was the greatest time I ever had, my high school threw bigger parties, but none the less it was a decent amount of fun.
School spirit among the student body is so low its non-existant. Hardly anyone goes to the basketball games (basketball is probably the "biggest" sport on campus) ((Plus, the weather is always so rainy and cold since the school sits right on the river, that during basketball season you DO NOT even want to THINK about leaving your dorm))

SURROUNDING AREA:
Oh boy. Granted, I came from a very small, safe town, Poughkeepsie gives a whole new meaning to the term "unsafe." It is SCARY. Please, all future Marist students reading this, if there is ANYTHING to take away from my review it should be PLEASE do not go into downtown Poughkeepsie. There were several girls in my freshman class who ended up in the wrong spot (anywhere outside the campus walls) and got brutally mugged. For anyone wondering, yes, they are now O.K. physically..mentally a little scared.

I hope you were all able to find this review helpful. Re-reading it now, it does sound a little negative but unfortunately that is the way I, and a lot of other people, view Marist College. However, I must thank Marist for one thing- allowing me the opportunity to transfer to an Ivy League school. Due to my 3.9 GPA after my first semester at Marist, I was accepted into an extremely prestigious university that I would not have even imagined attending as a senior in High School. I encourage all reading this to truly think about their college decision before enrolling, however always remember that all mistakes can be fixed if submitted before the transfer deadline.

Responses

150% TRUE I'm a current marist student and everything this girl wrote is completely accurate. if ur goals are to be black-out wasted monday-saturday this is the place for u. if u have any dignity or morals (aka not willing to sleep with the 300 guys that try to take u home within the first 20 mins if being at the bar) stay the hell away from this place. 13th grade for sure. i am transferring to a top school in Cali.